Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced the charges against a Chicago gang member who has been sentenced to a 90-year prison term for the murder case of a pregnant minor, whose unborn child suffered extreme injuries after gang rivalry shooting incident in 2011.
Timothy Jones, 23, a member of the Rockwell Boy gang was convicted of First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm for the death of Charinez Jefferson, a 17-year-old seven months pregnant woman, leaving her unborn, second child severely injured. The young lady was caught in a crossfire between the defendant’s group and the REC City gang, wherein the defendant tried to shoot a man from the rivalry gang but ended up shooting about eight rounds of bullets at Charinez, as she walked down the street of the 3000 blocks of West 64th street.
Witnesses testified that the victim was walking home with a male friend on August 16, 2011, around the Southwest Side Chicago Lawn neighborhood of Marquette Park. Debbie Jefferson, the victim’s mother, reported that her child called and said “here I come, mama,” just a few minutes before the shooting incident.
In the short amount of time after Debbie’s call with her daughter, the defendant had come into the scene firing two shots at the male friend Charinez was with; however, the intended target from the rival gang managed to run away, which led the defendant to release repressed anger on the young lady. Jones had apparently been shot twice earlier that day, to which the prosecutors claimed in court that the defendant’s “minor injury fueled his rage and fueled his desire for revenge.
Charinez, with a gun to her head, begged for mercy as she states she was pregnant. Witnesses reported that even then, the defendant remained unmoved and proceeded to shoot the teen mother. It was reported that Charinez was shot eight times, in the ankle, buttock, chest, foot, head, neck, and thigh. Immediately after, the victim was brought to the Christ Hospital to perform emergency surgery to save the unborn child. Charinez died as a result of her extensive injuries, but her second child, Kahmani, was born. Kahmani suffered oxygen deprivation and skull fractures from the impact of Charinez’s body to the ground upon being shot. As a result, Kahmani was born in a vegetative state and is completely incapacitated.
The victim’s mother, Debbie, was suffering from bone cancer and knew she would not survive to speak at the defendant’s sentencing. She, therefore, prepared a statement, which was read by a prosecutor in court five months after her death and five years after her daughter’s, during the announcement of the jury’s verdict.
“It’s kind of sad when his [older] brother asks, ‘Grandma, when is he going to get out of bed and play with me?” Debbie wrote in her statement. “Maybe with one more shot, you would have taken his life too. You not only took my daughter’s life; you basically took his life too. I pray every day that God shows him a favor and that one day he will be able to enjoy some parts of life,” she said.
Debbie also noted the defendant’s lack of regret in the court during the trial “I watched you during the trial, and you showed no remorse. So maybe you wouldn’t know how I feel. From this day forward, when you open and close your mouth and eyes, and you are still able to walk and talk, stop and take a minute and think about the lives you destroyed,” Debbie said.
Cook County Judge Nicholas Ford ordered Timothy Jones to a 90-year-imprisonment on July 18, 2016, for First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm to bring justice to the unfortunate events in the August of 2011. The sentence was announced during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez commended Assistant State’s Attorneys Nina Ricci and Jane Sack for their exemplary work on the case, including the Chicago Police Department for their collaborative work.
Updated: August 17, 2020